"The huge body is now towed to the ship; a hole is cut into the blubber near the head, into which a strong hook is inserted--a difficult and dangerous operation. A strong tension is then applied to this hook, and by it the blubber is hoisted up, as it is generally cut by the spades in a spiral strip, going round and round the body, the whale being secured alongside of the ship, and somewhat stretched by tackles both at the head and tail. As this strip or band of blubber is pulled off, weighing from one half to two tons, the body of course revolves, until the stripping reaches the 'small,' when it will turn no more. "The head, which at the commencement of the process was cut off and secured astern, is now hoisted into a perpendicular position, the front of the muzzle opened, and the oil dipped out of the case by a bucket at the end of a pole." A ship has no purchase sufficiently strong to hoist in on deck the head of a large sperm whale. It is so heavy that it would take the masts out of her if attempted, or bring her keel out of water. Besides, it is so bulky that it would more than fill up the entire waist of the ship. The head sometimes contains more than fifty barrels of oil. After the oil has been dipped out of the "case," the "junk" is then cut into oblong pieces and taken in on deck; the remainder of the head and carcass are then cut adrift. The oil is afterwards extracted from the blubber and junk, being cut into small pieces by the "mincing knife," and exposed to the action of fire in large pots, the skinny portions which remain serving for fuel. It should be observed that it is usual to secure the "junk" before dipping the oil from the "case." The "junk," which is the forward part of the head, contains the purest spermaceti, and therefore more valuable on that account. It is deposited in the front part of the head in a solid mass, about the consistence of lard, and divided occasionally by a narrow layer of "white horse," a substance resembling the cords of animals, only harder. After passing through a "cooler," the oil is conveyed through leathern hose to large stationary casks which constitute the bottom tier in the hold of the ship. When whales are plenty, which is the harvest time with whalemen, they usually stow away one hundred barrels of oil in twenty-four hours. At such times as these, the fires in the "try works" never go out. If whales were abundant, whalemen would fill a ship carrying three thousand barrels in less than two months. CHAPTER VI. Outfitting and Infitting.--"Runners."--Remedy.--Articles of Clothing.--Whaling Business.--Promotion.--Whale Killing.-- Dangers.--General Success of the Enterprise.